I have grown up with the LEGO series, with most of my attachment going to Lego Star Wars III, the Marvel series, Lego Batman 2 and 3, the Lego Movie videogame and Dimensions. These games are easy to pick up and play and are great co-op games for younger siblings. I have a lot of love and nostalgia for this series, but even with that discarded I feel like some of the magic is gone with this game. The humor is in tact, especially in the sequel trilogy because it's a lot easier to make fun of, and the gameplay is pretty solid. However, the combat, although it's been overhauled and given a lot of bells and whistles, is really easy to dumb down to "blast them in the head" and "spam lightsaber throw." While combat was very simple in the older games, it worked in its simplicity. If everything is simple, nothing is. Meanwhile, they integrate a bunch of different gimmicks and ideas, so it feels worse because you find the broken move and just use that repeatedly, and it feels worse because of that. You spammed in the older games, but that was all you could do. The lack of a character creator really hurts as the Star Wars series pioneered that part of the LEGO games even when other subseries left it behind. The open world hubs are impressive, especially in size and scale. The visuals are really solid, the voice acting is okay (but you can switch it to the mumbles from the old games so that's cool), and there's a ton of collectibles and side quests. I just don't think I'd be interested in coming back to this any time soon unfortunately.

This is a fantastic first-person shooter that I'm really sad that I missed the hype train for. Not that it wasn't hard to, it was unfortunately sandwiched between two big releases from their biggest competitors and even after I was obsessed with Overwatch in the late 2010s. Coming in now, I see the light and have been Titanfall 2 pilled to the point where I give a hard stare at Apex Legends for delaying Titanfall 3 from existing. Perhaps one day, we just got Grand Theft Auto 6 announced, there's still hope. But you're looking for thoughts on gameplay. I think the gameplay is nothing short of excellent. The movement feels amazing, the gunplay is finely tuned, and there's still an active playerbase and it's not infested with malware (cough cough Call of Duty). I got to experience both the multiplayer and the campaign and both were excellent. In terms of the campaign, thanks for making me invested in a robot and punishing me for doing so. In terms of the multiplayer, thanks for queuing me with people who have played since release and punishing me for doing so. Overall a great game that I think is pretty damn peak despite my lower hour count.

What can I say about this gem that hasn't been said before? I came back to it a few years after I first beat it, and I can say with full confidence that it still holds up amazingly well. The visuals being a love letter to the 1930s rubberhose style and going all the way shows the passion and determination of the developers to commit to their vision with no compromises. The gameplay is nail-biting and tense, but fair enough to want to keep going (which makes all the better when you finally conquer the level that's been beating you down for the last two hours). The score is fantastic and I eat it up because I love ragtime, swing and jazz. All-in-all a complete package with a cherry on top.

A solid platform fighter that takes the barebones elements and fuses it into an intricate chess game where I still don't know what I can do with all of the pieces, and that's just for one character. It's really fun trying to come up with a gameplan a few frames at a time. When it reaches the conclusion, the replay is an excellent payoff for the time dedicated to the match you played because it can lead to some really cool battles to look back on and it helps you think of how to improve for next time. Cowboy main for life.

Wow, I'm glad this $25 Funky Kong DLC came with a few extra characters and 48 tracks! In all seriousness though, the BCP is kind of a mixed bag for me. Is it worth the price of admission? Oh yes, absolutely. You get to double the amount of tracks in the game with some extra characters thrown in as a bonus! However, the tracks aren't all visually up to snuff with the base game. Some come really close, but a lot of them really show their Tour roots and stick out like a sore thumb. I'm glad we got more content for a great entry in the Mario Kart series, but it comes with some unfortunate drawbacks that ultimately may not matter to you. Pick it up if you can.

My introduction to the Metroid series was admittedly tough to get into. I had played this on and off before restarting an hour of progress in order to actually remember where I was and pay attention to the stuff I'm getting. Then it clicked with me. All of a sudden I started making rapid progress. I collected new items and powers quicker, and I then made my way back through the various locales to grab some stuff locked behind future options. Samus evolving into a freight train of mass destruction feels really good once you start annhilating everything you see, and I look forward to similar experiences in the next Metroidvania I dedicate time to.

First time playing a Tekken, did not disappoint. I mainly played through the story mode but I've got a little bit of local matches under my belt as well. The combat is so fun and satisfying (like look at those hit VFX and SFX, those are crunchy as hell), the character roster is fun and varied, insane lore, crazy amounts of customization that actively impress me with how creative people get, and there's a lot of fun modes to try out besides the main gameplay loop. Definitely a good first impression.

DMC1: It's a decent start that admittedly I didn't really like at first. The controls felt really limited for an action game and you can really feel the Resident Evil DNA that stuck after the game switched gears. However, I got my hands on more weapons as I gave it more time and this ended up becoming a solid game that while the rest of the series probably does better (haven't played them as of writing this) I think might still worth going back to. 8/10.

DMC2: What an absolute downgrade from the original. It somehow makes the flaws even worse from the original and takes away the good elements at the same time. The story is absolutely boring, Dante became a cardboard box, and I don't care about Lucia or how she plays into the narrative. The gameplay is repetitive and boring, with empty and dull missions to play through. This is one of the only games that I have put down because I actively wasn't having fun. Do not waste your time, play DMC1 and skip right to 3. 3/10.

DMC3: An excellent return to form that introduces a few fan-favorite characters (Vergil is fucking awesome). The combat loop has returned from monotony to engaging and fun, especially with the weapon variety this time around. You really think about your loadout and how to spend Red Souls upgrading them, as well as your health and Devil Trigger guage. The story this time around was fun as well, getting to meet new characters like Lady and Vergil make the story really fun and Dante is back to his loveable goofy self after losing his way in DMC2. Just an absolute banger all around. 9/10.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10